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Saturday, January 31, 2015

NEW DELHI:31.1.2015

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar today said his Ministry would finalise modalities for the much delayed 'One Rank, One Pension' (OROP) scheme by next week and the file would be sent to Finance Ministry for further action. "In principle, it has been approved earlier. Discussions are on to fix modalities... By next week, the view of the defence ministry will be formed," Parrikar told reporters here while declaring that the OROP issue has been fast-tracked and he has already held several meetings on it.

As and when the exact implementation status for the scheme is finalised by defence ministry, it will be taken up to the Ministry of Finance,he said. Speaking on the issue last month, Parrikar had said if he could take the satisfaction level (of the retired armed forces personnel) to 80-90 per cent, that should be "a good enough solution".

'One Rank, One Pension' has been a long-standing demand of the over 2 million ex-servicemen in India. It seeks to ensure that a uniform pension is paid to defence personnel who retire at the same rank with the same length of service, irrespective of their date of retirement.

The minister, meanwhile, said it has decided not to fight nearly 4,000 disability pension cases pending against his ministry in courts, a move which will benefit thousands of soldiers waging long legal battles.

Asked about concerns expressed by China and Pakistan over the defence agreement signed during US President Barack Obama's visit here and whether India was prepared for a two- front war, Parrikar refused to comment.

He, however, said, "From our side we are trying to create an atmosphere of preparedness for everything. You have to assume the worst and hope for the best," he said.

Asked about concerns expressed by China and Pakistan over the defence agreement signed during US President Barack Obama's visit here and whether India was prepared for a two- front war, Parrikar refused to comment.

He, however, said, "From our side we are trying to create an atmosphere of preparedness for everything. You have to assume the worst and hope for the best," he said.

On a query as to whether the talks being held with the US on controversial agreements like CISMOA, BECA and LSA, he said "more cooperation is good" but did not comment on anything that is in the discussion stage.

He said that if India expands the Defence Trade Technology Initiative (DTTI), it would be advantageous for the country.

The minister said that the next meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council is likely to be held on February 9. "Wherever procedures are proper, I feel that decisions should be quick. I have been pushing very hard for quick decisions. On the merit of each case, decision will be taken," he said

A time comes in life when everyone needs to make a final push for the issue so dear to him.Same is the case with OROP.Grapevine tells us that Government is sincerely working on the file of OROP. What will finally come is anyone's guess? However our information is that all kinks have been sorted out and full OROP is under active consideration.

We all know that MOD/CGDA/DESW who are supposed to be working to look after the interest of Armed Forces and Ex-servicemen have been working to dilute the definition of OROP since they can not deny it anymore. Because OROP has been approved by the Parliament and is a statute now.

It is only because of thestubborn resistance by all ESM Associationsthat we have together foiled their attempt to dilute or deny OROP so for. This is the main reason for the delay in issuance of notification.

PM/RM is determined to give OROP and are pushing the reluctant bureaucracy to release the notification but it seems that the politicians need support from all of us to over rule the objections of bureaucracy.That is the reason IESM maintains that proposed rally on 1 Feb 15 is not against Government but to support them to over rule the flimsy objections of the bureaucrats.

IESM has announced a Maha Rally at 1030h on 1 Feb 15 at Jantar Mantar New Delhi to make this final push and to lend a shoulder to politicians to finally over rule the objections raised on OROP by bureaucrats. A large number of ESM from 14 states will assemble at 1030h on 1 Feb 15 at Jantar Mantar New Delhi to send a strong message to MOD that Ex-servicemen are disillusioned with this undue delay in issuance of notification of OROP. Good News is that Group from Tamil Nadu has already arrived at Delhi.

IT IS SURPRISING THAT OROP IS A STATUTE PASSED BY TWO PARLIAMENTS, IS IN THE MANIFESTO OF BJP (PRINCIPLED PARTY), PERSONAL COMMITMENT OF PM( MAN OF HIS WORDS), RM HAS CONFIRMED THAT HE IS FOR RELEASE OF OROP, RS 9500/CRORES ARE EARMARKED FOR OROP BY THE GOVERNMENT BUT THERE ARE HURDLES IN ISSUANCE OF NOTIFICATION.

WHAT ARE THESE HURDLES? DOES IESM HAS TO EXPLAIN THIS TO EX-SERVICEMEN?One relevant questions needs to be asked to veterans who are advising us restrain.

Would it have taken one year for a notification if this measure was for bureaucrats? It would have been issued and paid even by diverting funds from any other major or minor head and nobody would have known this. This notification is stuck just because OROP is for Armed Forces.

Some politically motivated veterans are spreading rumours that the rally has been cancelled. It is mischievous propaganda to reduce the impact of rally.

IESM CONFIRMS THAT THE RALLY WILL DEFINITELY BE HELD AT 1030H ON 1 FEB 15 Jantar Mantar New Delhi TO EXPRESS THE DISCONTENTMENT OF LARGE FAMILY OF ESM.

Trains and Bus loads of ESM have already started from every state of India to join the Rally.

Ex-servicemen are requested to assemble at 1030h on 1 Feb 15 at Jantar Mantar New Delhi convert shove into big heave.

IT IS NOW OR NEVER. BE THERE TO BE COUNTED IN THE FINAL PUSH FOR RELEASE OF OROP NOTIFICATION.

ONE POSITIVE STATEMENT ON OROP FROM RM/MOD WILL MAKE EX-SERVICEMEN HAPPY TO SAY

It will be a
great relief to veterans if the Self attestation policy recommended by
Department of Administrative reforms vide their OM dated 10 May 2013 is
implemented in the Department of Ex-servicemen Welfare.

Of late the
Record Offices are insisting Affidavits/Attestation for each and every thing
sometimes from a First Class Magistrate and sometimes from a First Class
Judicial Magistrate. Theprocedurefor obtaining affidavit from1st ClassJudicial Magistrate is different from
a1st ClassMagistrate. A1st ClassJudicial Magistrate cannot be
approached without the help of an advocate. Similarly the1st ClassMagistrate of aDistrictRevenue Officer or Revenue Divisional
Officer cannot be approached directly for anything. The revenue department’s
sub-ordinate officials such as VAO and Tahsildar has to approve before taking
any issue to the Revenue Divisional Officer.

Both these procedures are time consuming and expensive. There is
no fixed fee prescribed for this purpose by the government. Therefore the
veterans are put into great hardship for getting Affidavits. While this is the
ground situation, the Record Offices simply send a letter to obtain affidavit
from 1st Class Magistrates for each and every thing. For example a small
spelling mistake made mostly by some other record office staff in the name of
an individual, say Sepoy.Natarajan as per hisschool certificateis written by record office staff as
Natrajan omitting ‘a’ after ‘t’. For this simple alphaphetical mistake made due
to the pronunciation in a different way by different people of this country,
now the individual has to get an affidavit from a First class Magistrate.
Likewise there are so many instances that the veterans are put into great
hardship.

For certain
documentary evidences, the date of birth given in a school certificate is
accepted in many offices Whereas our record offices are insisting originalbirth certificatein
addition to theschool certificate. (As per Army
Instructions 51/80 AHQ letter No.A/00659/org-8 (I&R) (A) dt.10/10/1991school certificatescan
be accepted for all purposes. Since delayed registration of birth is to be done
only through legal procedure (Court) it takes minimum 3 to 4 months and a
considerable advocate fee. In this situation it is requested that theschool certificatemay
be accepted for date of birth for all purposes.

Similarly, in
case of marriagecertificate, the record offices are
insisting affidavit from magistrate even after producing the original marriagecertificateissue by the registrar of marriages of
the respective state government. Of late the need for the veterans to
approach their record offices increases day by day due to various reasons.

1. After the
introduction of ECHS, the necessity for the publication of Part II order for
the child birth of post retirement cases increases.

2. The recent
welfare measures announced by the govt. like pension for unmarried daughters,
widowed daughters and physically and mentally challenged children of veterans
had made the veterans to run for birth certificates, death certificates after a
long delay. According to Registration of Births and Death Act 1969, a birth or
death if not registered within one year from the date of occurrence, the birth
or deathcertificatecan be obtained only through courts
which is a lengthy, time consuming and expensiveprocedure. The newly announced self
attestationprocedureif implemented in our services, it
will be a great relief to the veterans.

3. A 50 years
old widowed daughter of an ex-serviceman, suppose if she wants toapply forher father’s defence family pension,
then kindly read below what are the certificates she has to produce.

i) The death and
legal heir shipcertificateof her father.

ii) The death
and legal heir shipcertificateof her mother.

iii) The death
and legal heir ship of her husband.

iv) The marriagecertificateissued by registrar of marriages in
original.

Thank God,
nowadays, the death certificates are issued without much difficulty. In case of
issue of legal heir-shipcertificate,
as there is no clear transparentprocedurelaid down by most of the state
government, the revenue authorities mostly the lower level functionaries of theDistrictcollectorlike the Tahsildhar, Revenue Inspector
and VAOs take advantage of the situation and harass the public in innumerable
ways. As there is no fixed fee for issue of a Legal heir shipcertificateand also there is no clear mandate for
the Revenue authorities to issue legal heir ship certificates, the veterans are
suffering a lot.

As the revenue
authorities always busy with the executive powers of Law and Order, communal
peace and various other miscellaneous works entrusted by thedistrictcollectorfrom time to time, the job of
verification and issue of legal heir shipcertificateto anyindividualbecomes secondary. If we raise an
issue regarding non issue or delay, then the alternative will be to go to court
to get a Successioncertificate.
This is the practical difficulty in obtaining legal heir shipcertificate. There is no relief to the
public on this issue in the near future as there is no indication of any new
legislation in this regard.

Regarding the
marriagecertificatefor a 50 years old widow, the rules
does not allow to issue marriagecertificateafter the death of the husband.
Therefore the widow has to approach the court or RDO to get an affidavit . It
is not an easy job for a helpless orphaned widow to get all these certificates.

Similarly, if the
birth of the widow was not registered and Part II order is not obtained by her
deceased father, again she has to approach court. It looks simple that widowed
daughter will be given pension of her father. But practically very few only
able to get the pension because of the above hurdles. Many poor families of the
veterans do not come forward evento apply.

Moreover,
recently, the record offices have introduced another clause that all such
applications from unmarried daughters and widowed daughters for pension must be
investigated by the Zilla Sainik board and genuiness report must be obtained
before forwarding the application to PCDA for issue of PPO. The Zilla sainik
offices unduly delay such applications for sending the verification report. In
the case of applications from unmarried daughters of veterans, the Zilla sainik
board officials do not show any sympathy and humanitarian view, they always
look at the applicants with a suspicious eye. Therefore there is lot of delay
in forwarding the investigation report to the record office.

The functioning
of the state administered Zilla sainik Board is far below the expectations of
the veterans in almostall states.

There is an
urgent need to change the functioning of the Ex-servicemen Welfare departments.
They are not sensitive to the need of the veterans. Kendriya sainik board is
another big blank.

For the present,
if the service head quarters implement the self attestationprocedureimmediately and instruct suitable guidelines
to all record offices and Zilla sainik boards, it will be a great relief to
many more veterans.

As an
Ex-serviemen and Social Welfare Trust, we find it very difficult tohelp poorveterans
and their families because of the above mentioned difficulties. We therefore
request the Veteran Cell to take up the matter with appropriate authorities for
an early implementation of the self attestation policy for the veterans
matters.

Punjab and
Kerala State governments have already implemented. Tamil Nadu government is
silent about this. The Central Government should make it mandatory for the
states to implement such reforms for the benefit of its citizens.

Ex-servicemen from Punjab
will join veterans from other
parts of the country at a rally
to be held at Jantar Mantar,
New Delhi, in protest
against the non-implementation
of the promised the
“one rank, one pension”
(OROP) formula.

Addressing mediapersons
here today, a section of exservicemen
flayed the government’s
alleged apathetic
attitude towards the
cause of serving and retired
armed forces personnel.
Brig KS Kahlon (retd), president
of the Punjab chapter of
the All-India Ex-Servicemen’s
Brotherhood, said
about 5,000 ex-servicemen
from various parts of the state
would participate in the
“maha rally” scheduled to be
held in Delhi on February 1.

He said the shortage of
manpower in the armed
forces had adversely affected
the national security. It
also led to increased stress
and workload on soldiers.
The government had failed
to address the situation and
meet aspirations of those in
uniform, he alleged.

Terming it as the betrayal
of ex-Servicemen, Brig Harwant
Singh (retd) said
despite the OROP having
been announced on the
floor of Parliament and the
Prime Minister personally
assuring its implementation
several times, lame
excuses were being extended
to justify the delay.

The country has just celebrated its 66th Republic Day. The ceremony is all about generating a feeling of nationalism. The President, as supreme commander, reviews the Armed Forces and gives the nation an assurance of their ability to defend the Nation. The forces, in turn, reiterate their loyalty to the elected government and their supreme commander.

The most emotional part is the honour that the grateful Nation bestows upon its gallant soldiers who have won laurels with their feats of bravery and, in some cases, have sacrificed their lives for the cause of the Nation. This year, President Pranab Mukherjee posthumously honoured Major Mukund Varadarajan and Naik Neeraj Kumar with the prestigious Ashok Chakra, the highest peacetime military award of the country. The award was accepted from the President by the widows of the two brave soldiers. These brave sons of India laid down their lives combating terrorists in separate incidents in the Kashmir Valley.

While the award of the Ashok Chakra to Major Mukund Varadarajan, AC (Posthumous) was announced on August, 15, 2014, the award for Naik Neeraj Kumar, AC (Posthumous) was announced on January, 25, 2015, along with other gallantry awards for 2014 that included three Kirti Chakra, nine Shaurya Charka and forty eight Sena Medal (Gallantry). Of these one Kirti Chakra, three Shaurya Chakra and 16 Sena Medal (Gallantry) are posthumous.

Apart from these brave martyrs there have been many soldiers in the years gone by who have sacrificed their lives for the country. The war memorial at the Northern Command headquarters in Udhampur, Jammu and Kashmir, alone holds the names of over 12,000 fallen heroes. If we get down to making a National War Memorial (that has been pending for long) a full count of the brave soldiers who have made the supreme sacrifice for the nation post independence will be readily available, and it will be a lot more than what is recorded at the Northern Command war memorial.

The Nation should be more equitable in showing its respect to those who have taken upon themselves the mantle of securing it. The families of all fallen heroes should receive the same attention as received by those who are conferred with gallantry awards since the loss is the same. Moreover, consciousness of the soldier's contribution to the national cause has to be ongoing rather than it being event and ceremony based. The Nation must collectively uphold the respect, morale and fighting capabilities of its soldiers.

It is sad to note that the Armed Forces have been, for quite some time now, embroiled in debilitating and humiliating bureaucratic spats over several issues. The One Rank One Pension (OROP) demand still remains unattended. The Department of Ex-servicemen (DESW) which is charged with the responsibility to look after military veterans does not hesitate from dragging them to court over frivolous cases of disability pension that can well be resolved through in house arbitration. Even more unfortunate is the fact thatit has no compunction in taking such issues right up to the Supreme Court. A demand of the services for representation in the central pay commission is also pending for long.

The defence procurement procedures are so complex that the forces reel under the pressure of being badly equipped and under equipped. The prevailing system is reactive in nature; the National Security Guard got permission to requisition civil aircraft during emergencies only after the 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai. Certain essential weaponry was purchased off the shelf only when a military face off with a foreign power becomes imminent.

The casual attitude of the government negatively impacts the morale of the soldier and erodes his confidence. It leads to avoidable cynicism within the ranks of the armed forces. Due to negativity on the part of a select few all the affection showered by the nation on to its soldiers gets negated.

There is no point in having mammoth establishments like the Ministry of Defence supported by the service headquarters sitting on prime land in New Delhi, while the soldier on ground is suffering due to bad equipment, inadequate pay and pathetic living conditions.

The issue of accountability and transparency is of prime importance in matters relating to defence and security? Keeping the public in the information loop are of utmost importance. The government should not be allowed to hide its inadequacies behind a veil of a self proclaimed need for secrecy. Furthermore, if the forces feel that they are not ready for war they should come out openly with their apprehensions.

If a particular government feels that it can motivate its youth to sacrifice their lives for a salary of Rs 10000/ per month by all means give no more; if the nation feels that we can do without advanced weaponry then the government should call upon the youth to join the Armed Forces and fight with bows and arrows. There is no point in debating these matters endlessly. It is not for the soldier to demand, it is for the Nation to provide!

The soldier's fraternity and the nation have, since long, given up on the capability of the UPA Government to deliver in the domain of national security. With the new government in place, a ray of hope has emerged. It is well known that the defence forces have a special place in the nationalist policies of the BJP led Government, hence, a change for the better is expected.

Time is of essence, decisions must be well considered and opportune. Defence is too serious a matter to be subject to dithering and unaccounted delays. The leadership of the country must be firm and decisive in all matters related to security. In case the new government takes too long to deliver then chances of it also losing its credibility will become very high and the resultant damage will become difficult to control.

Thursday, January 29, 2015

New Delhi: Even as India on Thursday paid its last respects to late Colonel Munindra Nath Rai martyred in anti-terror operations in Jammu and Kashmir, the Central government which claims to have adopted a strong stand on security related issues was conspicuously missing from the scene.

Several senior Army officers including Army Chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag were present to pay homage to Colonel Rai, but no senior minister from the Central government showed up to offer their respects to the martyr or offer condolences to his family.

The cremation took place in the national capital and even with senior ministers including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikkar present in the city, not even a single representative from the government arrived at the cremation ground to place a wreath on the martyr's mortal remains.

No senior minister from the Central government showed up to offer their respects to the martyr or offer condolences to his family.

Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have been claiming to have maintained a tough stand on Pakistan sponsored terror activities and had attacked the Congress-led UPA regime for maintaining a soft stand on security related issues.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had in January 2014 said that India should get at least 10 heads of Pakistani soldier after Indian trooper Lance Naik Hemraj of Rajputana Rifles was beheaded during a border skirmish in Jammu and Kashmir. Singh was killed on the Line of Control and his severed head was allegedly paraded by the Pakistan Army.

While the Uttar Pradesh government announced a compensation of Rs 30 lakh for Col Rai's family as he was a native of Derhgava village in Sohaval area of the state's Ghazipur district, the Central government is yet to do so.

Colonel Munindra Nath Rai, the commanding officer of 42 Rashtriya Rifles, was martyred along with Jammu and Kashmir Police constable Sanjeev Singh in an encounter with Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists in Tral area of Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday evening. Commissioned into the 2/9 Gorkha Rifles, the 39-year-old Colonel was honoured with a Yudh Sena Medal on Republic Day, just a day before he was killed in the encounter.

No senior minister from the Central government showed up to offer their respects to the martyr or offer condolences to his family.

Monday, January 26, 2015

Saturday, January 24, 2015

Click to enlarge

This Gorkha soldier, single handedly, without caring for his own safety, held off 40 goons with his knife killing three and injuring eight, who tried to rape a woman in a train. All he got was a memento awarded by his own Commanding Officer. I am sure if his case for a Gallantry Award was taken up, he could very well have got a Peacetime Gallantry Award like Kirti Chakra or Shuaraya Chakra. What a pity?

Belated Information on the Gallant Soldier

Bishnu Shrestha is a retired Nepalese Gurkha soldier in the Indian army and recipient of the Sena Medal for bravery, and the Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak medal, both awarded for his gallant conduct during an armed train robbery. Wikipedia

Good days will come for Central Government Employees, get 6% dearness allowance

It is certain that 6% increase in DA is guaranteed. Here it is necessary to mention that the DA is increased twice in a year. Central government employees are paid from the first of January and July. As we're told that the DA is 6 percent of total will be 113%. But it is also a provision that if the DA crossed 100 mark will be merged in the basic salary. The employee unions are pressing hard for the merger of DA in the basic pay. But neither the government nor the Seventh Pay Commission is committed at this point. The government has also not in mood to merge the DA in the basic pay. If that happens, this will be bad news for the employees.

Union workers are now engaged on the expected budget has to be presented in February. Employees are hoping that the finance minister will must bring good day for them. On the other side the employee organizations has started to pressure on government to merge the DA in basic pay. The employees union are also pressing for provision of fund for implementation of Seventh Pay Commission in the budget. Trade union leaders are confident that a big announcement can be in budget . (See the article in picture)

Saturday, January 24, 2015

E-mail forwarded to me

Date: Thu, Jan 22, 2015 at 7:33 PMSubject: Fwd: Oh India…. Why do I still serve you A Poem by a serving Officer

Am sure all of you will go through this poem.

Regards,

J K Kaushik

96th Pilots Course

===================================================================

Dear All

I received this mail today. It very beautifully describes the angst of the Armed forces against continuous betrayal by the Country. Worth a read.

A poem by a young Indian Army Officer.

It has been composed by a fourth generation, 24-year old career officer in the Indian Armed Forces, spurred by the report of the Sixth Pay Commission and an insensitive article written by a 'respectable' citizen of the country in a national daily on the armed forces and the pertinence of the Sixth Pay Commission therein.

This free-flowing verse has not been edited; it's to ensure that the originality of the angst is maintained. After all, when you are in pain, the language of expression is the last thing in your mind

KIND ATTENTION - ALL BLOGGERS

Dear Friends,On 04.3.10 Someone(Scotland Address)hacked e-mail gavinivn@gmail.com & had been misusing for wrongful monetory gain. Please do not believe any story from this e-mail, with the name G Venkatanarayana (impersonated by hacker) seeking for any help, financial or otherwise. Thanks.